This invention relates primarily to video poker games, and more particularly to electronic video stud poker games that are based on poker hand rankings and allow the player to continue to play winning hands without additional cost to the player. The player starts with a stud poker hand and as long as the player achieves a winning hand the player continues to play without having to make additional wagers.
Five card, six card and seven card stud poker games have been played for many years, usually in a poker room setting in which a plurality of players play against each other striving to obtain the highest ranking poker hand (or lowest ranking poker hand in Lo-Ball poker) in order to win the pot which comprises the wagers made by the players during the play of the game.
Electronic video poker has also been a staple in gaming casinos for many years and this well known game is a single player game based on draw poker. The player attempts to achieve a winning poker hand ranking by discarding from an initial five card hand and drawing new cards in order to try and improve his poker hand. A pay table is provided to show the player what he can win based on the poker hand ranking achieved after the draw step and the amount wagered by the player.
There have been attempts to adapt stud poker to an electronic video game format. One attempt involved a single player seven card stud game in which the player makes a first wager and initially received three cards face up. In one version of this game, the player has the option of making additional wagers before the player receives the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cards. In another version, the player also has the option of making additional wagers before receiving the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cards unless the player has already achieved a winning poker hand combination, in which case the player is not allowed to make additional wagers. In either version, the final seven cards are analyzed and the best five card hand is used to determine the poker hand ranking of the player""s hand. A pay table is used based on five card poker hand rankings and the amount wagered by the player to determine the amount won by the player when he achieves a winning hand.
Another popular single player stud poker game is known as DOUBLE DOWN STUD poker. This game is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,137 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,413, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated herein by this reference. In DOUBLE DOWN STUD poker, the player makes a first wager and is dealt four cards all face up. The player may make an additional wager prior to receiving the fifth card. After the fifth card is dealt, the five card hand is compared to a pay table to determine if the player has a winning or losing card combination based on poker hand ranking.
Another stud poker game that has been adapted to a single player video poker format is a game known as LET IT RIDE(copyright). In this game, the player makes a wager of three units at the start of each round of play. The player is then shown three cards face up. The player may decrease his wager by one unit or let all three wagers ride. The player is then shown a fourth card. The player may decrease his wager by one unit or let his wagers ride. The player is then shown a fifth card and the poker hand ranking of the final five card hand is used to determine winning or losing plays based on a pay table. The method of play of LET IT RIDE(copyright) is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,288,081, U.S. Pat. No. 5,417,430 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,544,892, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein.
None of the previous attempts to put stud poker on an electronic video poker gaming machine rewarded the player with an additional free play of the game when the player achieved a winning play.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a stud poker game in which the player is awarded an additional play of a stud poker hand whenever the player receives a winning hand. This is in addition to also paying the player according to a pay table for his winning hand.
It is a feature of the present invention to deal and display a stud poker hand to the player. If the stud poker hand is winning hand, the player receives another play of the game for no additional wager and the player also receives a pay out for whatever winning hand combination he achieved.
It is another feature of the present invention to deal and display to the player multiple stud poker hands, which each stud poker hand being dealt from a separate deck of cards. For each winning hand achieved by the player, the player receives another play of that hand for no additional wager and the player also receives a pay out for whatever winning hand combination he achieved. The losing hands are not replayed.
It is an advantage of the present invention that the player may continue to receive additional plays of winning hands without additional wagers for as long as the player achieves winning hands. This makes the game very appealing to the player and can be quite rewarding to the player if he achieves a lucky streak and wins many hands in a row.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description.
The method of the present invention involves the player making a wager to play a stud poker game. The player is dealt a single five card poker hand from a deck of playing cards. The player wins or loses depending on the poker hand ranking of the hand. The amount won by the player is based on the poker hand ranking of the hand and the amount wagered by the player according to a pay table.
If the player has achieved a winning poker hand combination, the player is paid according to the pay table and the player plays again for no additional wager. The player is dealt a new five card hand and the poker hand ranking of this new five card is determined. If the player has a losing hand, the game is over. If the player has a winning hand, the player is paid according to the pay table and the player receives yet another five card for no additional wager. This continues until the player receives a losing hand.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the method of play is applied to multiple hands played at the same time. The player would make a wager which is allocated among the multiple hands. Each hand is dealt from a separate deck of cards. For each winning hand, the player is paid according to the pay table and the player also receives another play of that hand for no additional wager. This continues until the player has finally received a losing hand on all of the multiple hands that the player initially started with.